INDIANAPOLIS — TechPoint, today announced that it is expanding its central Indiana Founders Network to Bloomington to give innovators there a way to gather and gain the support they need to succeed. Gatherings will be hosted at The Mill.

“We only launched the program 10 months ago, so we’re really pleased to see regional demand expressed so quickly for this type of support,” said Chelsea Linder, TechPoint’s vice president for innovation and entrepreneurship. “We've had really invigorating discussions at our Indianapolis gatherings and are confident the Bloomington chapter will be just as engaged.”

More than 100 founders, including several from Bloomington, have joined the network and have met eight times since program launched. Both the Indianapolis and Bloomington chapters will next meet on Thursday, September 26, 2024, at 9 a.m. Attendees who are not Mill members will receive a free day pass to enable them to work from the space for the rest of the day after the meeting. The Indianapolis event will be at zWorks.

The Mill Executive Director Pat East said his organization, the center for entrepreneurship in Bloomington, is a natural fit to serve as the venue for the first expansion chapter. The Mill is a TechPoint member and serves more than 50 founders in the region.

“I’m thrilled that TechPoint is expanding its reach beyond Indianapolis. They understand that entrepreneurship can thrive in every city in Indiana,” East said. “I love seeing them partner with The Mill and other ESOs to ensure entrepreneurs nurture relationships and receive the support they need. Founders want to build and grow their startups in their own communities, and TechPoint is helping ensure they can do that.”

The Bloomington chapter will be led by Bloomington entrepreneur Hunter Hawley, who founded Blueprint Stats during his student days at Indiana University. The software platform that helps coaches evaluate and develop the skills of their players, was acquired by Sports Info Solutions, a Pennsylvania sports data and analytics provider in 2023. After spending some time in Dallas continuing his entrepreneurial pursuits Hawley recently moved back to Bloomington to lead the newest iteration of Bloomington-based startup, Periodic, a white label booking app.

“I know how crucial a community of peers is when you’re trying to get a product off the ground and don’t know what you don’t know,” Hawley said. “This casual approach to bringing founders – and founders to be – together is a great way to remove some of the obstacles I faced. Pairing it with the strength and resources of TechPoint makes it incredibly helpful.”

Bloomington Chapter meetings will be held monthly on Thursdays at The Mill, during the same time as Indianapolis meetings. Founders can attend whichever chapter meeting is most convenient for them.

Samantha Ginther, who recently joined the TechPoint Team as a Venture Advisor, said TechPoint hopes to launch additional chapters in 2025 to cater to more founders in regions across the state.

“The Indiana Founders Network was formed to strengthen Indiana’s digital innovation economy and help relieve the stress founders face by providing peer-to-peer support and to increase access to resources across the state,” Ginther said. “Founders can be hesitant to ask for help when they don't know where to start or who to reach out to, and the Network provides them with a community of support from day one. That community helps combat the stressful and oftentimes lonely journey of company building."

Like the Indianapolis group, the Bloomington chapter will determine its own agenda and schedule of speakers or discussion topics to ensure the members receive the services and information they most want. Following each monthly meeting, participants will have access to a free day of co-working at The Mill, the Network’s exclusive coworking space for the Bloomington chapter. Mill members will also have free access to the network.

The Network is open to founders who can support each other, access information and resources necessary to move their businesses forward and build relationships with people facing similar challenges. Targeted sectors include advanced manufacturing and logistics, agbiosciences, life sciences and healthcare, and technology. In addition to peer support, the long-term vision is to also open doors for Indiana founders to TechPoint’s membership, partners and corporate networks, including the Indiana CIO Network. The Network is open to startup founders, those with an idea but who haven’t yet moved forward with it and those who want to become a co-founder. It is not a space for investors or vendors. It offers connections to other entrepreneurs, access to members-only events, small peer group conversations and meetups, visibility through a membership directory, discounts to other ecosystem events and services, and access to education, coaching and mentors via the TechPoint Venture Support platform.

TechPoint and Mill members can join the network at no cost. Others can join for $105 per year. Learn more about the Network at https://techpoint.org/indiana-founders-network.

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About TechPoint: TechPoint, is the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership’s industry-led growth initiative for Indiana’s digital innovation economy and overall tech ecosystem. The team is focused on working with public, private and industry partners to expand tech talent pipeline, enhance resource connectivity for enterprise organizations and startups alike, and elevate the industry by activating the community and amplifying stories of success. For more information, please visit www.techpoint.org. Visit miraawards.com for more detail on the awards process and gala.

Media contact: Cheryl Reed: cheryl@techpoint.org